Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties

Foreign intelligence surveillance (FISA Section 702)

20 public statements from 2026 candidates · 3 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: The program is meant to help stop terrorist attacks and foreign spying, and the rules decide how much privacy Americans have when they communicate with people abroad.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which lets intelligence agencies collect the communications of foreigners abroad without a warrant for each person targeted, and whether searching those records for Americans' messages should require one; a 2026 law extended it only until June 12, 2026, and a bill to extend it further failed in the House the day before.1,2,3

  1. Don't renew it, or replace it with much narrower authority
  2. Renew it, but require a warrant to search the collected records for Americans' communications
  3. Renew it without major changes

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Don't renew it, or replace it with much narrower authority (2)

  • Samantha Mota CA-37
    Her campaign website calls for repealing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and for legislation barring warrantless surveillance of citizens.4
  • Mike Saliba MI-10
    His campaign website says the USA Freedom Act, the Military Commissions Act and the FISA legislation must be repealed or fundamentally changed to protect privacy and civil liberties.5

Renew it, but require a warrant to search the collected records for Americans' communications (5)

  • Jeff Wadlin AR Senate
    His campaign website says FISA Section 702 should require a warrant before agencies search its records for Americans' communications.6
  • Michael J. Quirk FL-17
    His campaign website says warrantless-surveillance authority should not be renewed without a warrant requirement before the government reads people's communications.7
  • Alexander Cooke FL-21
    His campaign website says he would make federal agencies obtain a probable-cause warrant before searching Section 702 collection for an American's communications.8
  • Michelle Fischbach MN-7
    The record page says she voted for an amendment requiring probable cause warrants in the FISA Section 702 reauthorization and voted against final passage because the bill lacked that requirement.9
  • Dan Osborn NE Senate
    His campaign website says he would not support renewing FISA Section 702 without strict warrant protections for Americans.10

Statements that don't match one option (13)

  • Ro Khanna CA-17
    His campaign website says his 2004 campaign called for amending the PATRIOT Act and FISA so that they would not violate civil liberties.11
  • Zoe Lofgren CA-18
    Her official biography says she led a 2014 bipartisan effort to close backdoor loopholes that allowed unwarranted government surveillance, and in 2020 led efforts to protect Americans' civil liberties during negotiations over renewing FISA.12
  • Lauren Boebert CO-4
    Her campaign website says she voted in June 2026 against extending warrantless government surveillance without new protections, and that the government should need a warrant to search Americans' data.13
  • Benjamin Wesley CT-4
    His campaign website calls for repealing the Patriot Act and reforming FISA, saying they let the government get around constitutional limits to spy on Americans.14
  • Mike Sell FL-4
    His campaign's platform says the government should be barred from buying private data to get around warrant requirements, and supports the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026.15,16
  • Kimberly Overman FL-12
    Her campaign platform says she supports requiring warrants and probable cause before surveilling American citizens, with strong judicial and congressional oversight of surveillance programs.17
  • Branden Scrivener FL-12
    His campaign website says the government should need a warrant to access people's data and should not be able to buy consumer data on the market.18
  • "Clay" Higgins LA-3
    His campaign website's 2016 Issues page says he has no problem with FISA and that warrants for electronic surveillance are an important tool that needs to be used.19
  • Nancy Wallace MD-8
    Her campaign website says she opposes the executive branch's claim that it can conduct surveillance without a warrant outside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and opposes the secret FISA court itself.20
  • C. Mia Pettus MI-8
    Her campaign website lists FISA Section 702 safeguards, warrant requirements and judicial and congressional oversight among its priorities on privacy and government surveillance.21
  • Lydia Christensen MI Senate
    Her campaign website says she would fight warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications.22
  • Shannon W. Bray NC Senate
    His campaign website supports ending mass surveillance without probable cause and restoring Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless surveillance.23
  • Andrew Gerena TN Senate
    His campaign website calls for repealing the Patriot Act and ending all public-facing mass surveillance systems.24

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.